Judy remembers one particularly dark time that affected her spiritual life. "I couldn't pray, and I couldn't find anything in scripture. It frightened me because it was so severe. I searched for days and found nothing.

"I finally realized this could go on forever. I told the Lord I was going to trust Him to take care of me. This lasted for nine months. I prayed. I read. I took care of my children. I went to church-but there was nothing from God, absolutely nothing."

Judy did her best to praise Him despite her dryness. At the end of that time, she was dutifully thanking God when all of a sudden God broke through her darkness. Judy sensed God's immense pleasure in her faithfulness.

It is in these dry times that we can offer to God a "costly gift." Fenelon, in his book Spiritual Progress, says, "The will to love God is the whole of religion." God knows exactly how much we love Him by observing our determination, the set of our wills. Much of our true spiritual development comes during the dry and hard times.

Sometimes we go to the Word simply because we've deliberately chosen to faithfully spend time in scripture. Such reading may seem unsatisfactory to us, but it is very pleasing to God.

Thank You, Jesus, for richly rewarding us when we are faithful during what seem to be unproductive times.

"I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your laws" (Psalm 119:30 NLT).